Drunken thug beat Leeds wife on her birthday

Damian Trzmielowski savagely attacked the woman after she tried to put the cap back on his bottle while having a celebratory drink at her Leeds home.

Leeds Crown Court heard that they were both sat on the sofa at around 6pm on October 19 last year after 44-year-old Trzmielowski had "a lot to drink". She had stopped drinking by that point and he kept slapping her on her hip, prosecutor Robert Galley said.

When she tried to put the cap on his bottle, he pushed her back against the sofa and and began punching her to the body and face. It was estimated he struck her up to 10 times. She tried to shield herself with her hands and tried to get back up.

He pushed he back against the sofa and punched her another 10 times, and pulled her hair so hard it ripped out clumps. By this time her head was bleeding and her vision was blurred.

She went to the bathroom and tried to lock herself in before calling her adult daughter who phoned the police. The woman suffered a wound to her forehead, bruising to her nose and reddening to her jaw.

Following his arrest, Trzmielowski told officers he could not remember the assault, saying he thought he had passed out and then woke up in custody.

Warehouse worker Trzmielowski, of Harehills Lane, Harehills, has no previous convictions. He was initially charged with GBH with intent, but later admitted GBH without intent, which was accepted by the Crown.

A probation report suggested he is still unable to explain why the assault happened. He said the couple, who had been together or four years and married for six months, often argued about money.

The report said he was finding it difficult to accept that the relationship was over. He is a father-of-two with his children living in his home country of Poland.

Mitigating, Stuart Field said: "He shows substantial remorse for what he did. He still finds it difficult to explain what happened and how it happened. There's no explanation to give other than drink played a significant role in these offences. His memory is somewhat fogged."

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Judge Tahir Khan KC handed Trzmielowski two years' jail, suspended for two years, accepting that it was "out of character". He also gave him 40 rehabilitation days, a six-month electronic tag monitoring requirement, 240 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay £700 compensation to his wife.